Forever Fall
by josh3124
Summary: After 5 years, Annabeth returns, in order to save her old home, but with so many things different will she be able to and will she be able to stay.
1. I'm Coming Home

To say that Annabeth Chase was nervous would be an understatement. For 5 years she had been gone aiding Lady Chaos in her fight to rid the world of the evil that surrounded the universe. She was unsure of the welcome she would have back the place she called home for some many years, and even more unsure of the reaction of the other campers that would be there awaiting her. She hoped that she would be welcomed back with open arms but knew that would not be the most likely scenario.

"Annabeth my child it is time, are you ready to return?" Lady Chaos asked her while putting a hand on Annabeth's shoulder.

Annabeth smiled up at Lady Chaos, "Yes my Lady, it has been far too long, I miss them all."

"By all I assume you mean Percy? Do not worry my dear, I am sure he has missed you greatly and is anticipating your return." Chaos assured her before gathering the other members of her team. "Alright are you all ready?'

Cries of yes and of course could be heard around Chaos.

Annabeth sighed, "Yes let's go."

**Camp Half Blood**

Camp Half Blood was buzzing, after the news of aid coming after the recent monster attacks and disappearance of demigods any good news was welcome. For the older campers a familiar face was among the crowd of helpers come to aid the demigods in their fight.

Annabeth Chase looked around at her old home, for 5 years she was gone, and it was if nothing had changed.

"Annabeth welcome back my child it has been far too long." Chiron approached her with tears in his eyes and a beaming smile.

"Chiron it's been so long I'm glad to see that you're doing well. How have things been since I've left?" Annabeth smiled back giving the Centaur a hug.

"Quiet until the last couple months with the increasing attacks disrupting the peace we've had."

"Look who it is, the princess returns." Clarisse taunted her from behind Chiron.

"Good to see you too Clarisse, it's been too long." Annabeth couldn't help but smile and look at her old rival.

"Can't say I've missed you but it's weird without you around here." Clarisse admitted while walking forward.

"Means a lot coming from you." Annabeth chuckled before giving Clarisse a hug.

"Oh, ho ho looky her its Annabethy Beth back again" Leo exclaimed running up the hill.

"Hey Leo, how are you?" Annabeth smiled before hugging Leo as well.

"I'm good where did you go? It's been so long, and you never told me where you were going."

"We told you where she went you idiot, you just didn't listen to us." Jason's' voice rang out near the back of the forming crowd. "Hey Annabeth, how are you?"

"I'm good Jason, glad to be back, how about you? How are you and Piper?"

"We're good we're happy, she's been going to school for fashion design in New York, so she hasn't been around Camp much but she's happy doing it so I'm happy for her."

"Where are Frank and Hazel?"

"They're at Camp Jupiter, they're used to the Roman lifestyle and wanted to stay there. They come by and visit every month, so we see them often."

"Chiron I believe we need to have a meeting with all the cabin leaders, and possibly grabbing the Praetors from Camp Jupiter would help a lot, get all of the explaining out of the way all together." Annabeth told Chiron, "I can introduce the other members that are here today, and we can figure out a game plan."

"I shall gather the others and contact Camp Jupiter." Chiron said while walking away.

"Melissa, you and the others follow Chiron, I'll be there shortly to meet up with you all." Annabeth told a member of Chaos's helpers.

Annabeth turned back and looked at Jason, she was happy to see him again and the fact that he wasn't angry really helped her feel better.

"So, any changes to the cabin leaders?" Annabeth asked.

"Not really, the number of Demi-Gods is pretty much the same, some leaving some coming, but overall nothing too much." Jason explained as they walked towards the Big House, silence enveloped them before Jason clapped, "Right there's a new member of the Poseidon Cabin. 13-year-old girl named Rose, little spark plug that one is, puts all the energy of the Hermes Cabin to shame. You'll she her at the meeting.

"What about Percy?" Annabeth asked confused as to why he wouldn't be at the meeting.

Jason looked down when she mentioned Percy's name.

"He left camp, not long after you had left, I know that he helps the Gods every once in a while and that his dad visits him, but none of us have had contact with him. The only people who do are Thalia and Nico." Jason responded.

"How does he help the gods?" Annabeth asked curious as to what Percy was up to.

"As far as I know he helps bring new Demi-Gods to Camp, he never enters Camp but takes them up to the tree. He's also helped out Nico with a couple things in the underworld as well as Artemis and the hunt. Overall it sounds like he's settled down now." Jason responded.

"Is Thalia still mad?" Annabeth asked afraid of the answer.

"She still won't mention your name, she was hurt, I think because you left without telling her. I know that she, Percy and Nico are really close and that they occasionally go out for some drinks and stuff but apart from that, I don't keep much contact with her either unfortunately." Jason said before he noticed that Annabeth had stopped walking.

Annabeth could not help but look at the statue in front of her, it showed Percy Nico and herself with their weapons out but with smiles on their faces. Below was a plaque,

'To the heroes who saved Olympus twice in its greatest hour of need, Nico Di Angelo Son of Hades, Annabeth Chase Daughter of Athena and Perseus Jackson Son of Poseidon.'

"Percy hates the monument, wanted it taken down, he sai-"

"That he was never the real hero in the wars, that the heroes were those that aren't here right now, living with us all." Annabeth finished with tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, Nico hates it as well, says if they were going to make it, at least don't show him smiling. There's one in Camp Jupiter with the seven from the quest as well." Jason told her while he looked at the statue.

"Where is Nico?" Annabeth asked unsure if she could even face him.

**FLASHBACK**

"How could you just leave, what the hell Annabeth." Nico yelled at her.

"You think I want to leave? This is the chance of a lifetime Nico, leaving and traveling the Universe imagine all the things that I could learn."

"You're willing to leave years of being with us, working fighting together for a chance to learn something? You're going to leave Percy, he loves you."

"I love him as well, but this is something that I need to do Nico, Ill regret it my entire life if I don't go."

Nico looked at her in disbelief, "And you won't regret leaving Percy, fine leave then, don't expect me to be kind to you if you return."

**FLASHBACK END**

"He's down near the beach, he just finished teaching a class on sword fighting so he should be relaxing there." Jason told Annabeth.

"I'll go grab him, he might not know about the meeting anyhow." Annabeth said while walking towards the beach.

"Annabeth" Jason called out, "Be careful, he has a shorter temper then he used to."

Annabeth nodded before walking off.

**Camp Half Blood Beach**

Nico sat on the beach looking out into the water, enjoying the silence and the calm of the waves, it appeared that Poseidon was in a good mood today. Curious Nico thought to himself, he figured the God of the Sea would be in a bad mood considering the news that had come down from Olympus earlier and the people who had arrived.

He sighed to himself, 'I wonder how Percy will react to all of this, he finally seemed to be moving on with everything and enjoying his life now. Of course, it wouldn't be Percy if his life wasn't normal.'

Nico sat there for a couple more minutes before getting up to head back into Camp.

"Nico how have you been?" A voice called out to him.

Nico stopped and rubbed his head to prepare for the headache about to arrive during this conversation.

"You going to ignore me now as well? We're friends Nico."

"I don't know you, unless you want a fight I suggest you leave while you still can."

"Really you're threatening me. We're friends Nico."

"No, we were friends, then you left without any regard for any of us. Frankly I don't care that you left Camp, I get it you lost a lot here and the memories would be hard to live with, but did you even consider what you were doing to him?"

"Of course, I did, I even offe- "

"You didn't because you knew he wouldn't accept how could he? Leave his mom? Leave Paul and most importantly leave Hannah? You didn't think about it at all, you thought about yourself."

"So, it's wrong for me to be selfish, to want to try and live a normal life?"

"How in the world is living up there a normal life? You could have had a normal life here. With him, he loved you and was willing to do anything for you, hell he even jumped into Tartarus for you and turned down Go-"

"Shut up Nico! You don't think I don't know that? You don't think I've lived the last 2 years with that knowledge and it torturing me for leaving him, I love him Nico I did back then I still do now but I needed something different in my life, I couldn't stay here anymore especially after Tartarus."

"Tell yourself that Annabeth but Percy went through just as much or more, bathing in the Styx, having a prophecy which stated he would either succeed or fail in saving Olympus. He then lost his memories and had to fight just to get back to you before jumping into Tartarus so that you wouldn't be alone. Yet he wanted to stay, because he didn't want any other demigod to go through what you both did, and he did that for 5 years now, but of course a hero's path is never easy. Annabeth, I think it would be best if you just did what you needed to and leave, for him it would be the best thing to do, he finally has a life again."

Nico sighed and he could hear the waves behind him reacting to what seemed to be the presence of Annabeth, washing move aggressively and the formally passive sea getting rougher as time progressed.

"I never wanted to leave him, our you, or anyone for that matter, I've gone by everyday missing all of you and wanting to come back to be with you all again, but I had an obligation and a job to do once I left. I regret I every day that I left him, and I have to live with that now, all I ask is the chance to sit down and talk to him Nico, that's all I need." Annabeth told Nico tears forming in her eyes.

"If you want to know where he is, you aren't going to get that information from me. As I said before, leave while you can."

"Nico, then what was Percy's wish granted by the gods?"

Nico looked at Annabeth in the eyes. "To be left alone."


	2. Not so Smooth Sailing

Annabeth entered the Rec room and saw all of the Cabin Leaders sitting around the ping pong table as well as her comrades standing near the head of the table opposite of Chiron. She recognized the Stoll twins from the Hermes Cabin, Katie Gardner from the Demeter Cabin, Clarisse from the Ares Cabin, Malcom from Athena, Drew from Aphrodite, Jason for Zeus, Pollox for Dionysus, Leo for Hephaestus, Will Solace for Apollo and Nico for Hades. There were others there but none that she recognized anymore.

"Firstly, I would like to welcome back Annabeth Chase to Camp who after 5 years has returned." Chiron said while clapping. "I would also like to welcome the warriors of Chaos who have come to aid us in our fight against the oncoming evil that threatens Olympus yet again."

They younger Cabin Leaders clapped along with some of the older ones Annabeth knew, the others were silent not even looking towards her.

"Thanks everyone so as you've already heard but it appears that the Olympians and Olympus itself is under attack again and we need to mount a defense to ensure nothing goes bad. We're here to try and help, I just need a run down on what we have for able bodied fighters and how well trained everyone is." Annabeth said while pulling out a pen and paper.

The leaders looked around the room at each other before finally looking at Nico. Nico was on his phone not paying attention until Will poked him in the side.

"The hell Will?" Nico asked looking up annoyed.

"We need to know how many able-bodied fighters we have in Camp." Will responded.

Nico looked up and sighed, "What do you count as able bodied? With just us alone I would say a little over 120. If we add the Hunters that's 30 and Camp Jupiter gives us around 500." Nico said not looking at Annabeth.

"Boy you will look at Miss Chase when you are speaking to her and show her the respect she deserves." One of Chaos's soldiers spoke out.

Annabeth looked up sharply as if to tell the soldier to shut up, but it was already too late.

"Respect, you're going to tell me I have to respect her. After what she did? Buddy trust me, I couldn't respect her no matter how hard I tried." Nico said dismissively.

"Watch your tongue half god, or I will remove it for you." Another warrior spoke up.

"Oh, look at this, Connor what a bunch of tools don't you think?" Travis said standing up.

"I would have to agree, tell me what she has done to earn our respect?" Connor said while joining his brother.

"Sit down boy, or you will join him." The warrior threatened.

"Atreus stop and shut up." Annabeth commanded.

Atreus looked at Annabeth in shock, "My lady I will not have them insult you and disparage you like that these half breeds have kn-"

"Say that again you brown noser? What did you just call us?" Clarisse said while standing up looking angry.

It was clear that the half breed comment had upset the demi-gods as they were all now on their feet, weapons in hand.

"Guys I'm sure they meant no harm in what they said, don't misunderstand them." Jason pleaded trying to make sure nothing went too far.

"Atreus apologize this instant, you have gone to far with your comments , lest I remind you I am also a demi-god." Annabeth reprimanded her comrade.

Before Atreus could speak another voice came up from the Demi-God side.

"Man, you really are a stuck-up bitch aren't you?"

Annabeth whirled around and looked at the girl who had called her a bitch and froze. In front of her was a girl with jet black hair and sea green eyes, just like Percy. Before she could do anything Atreus moved forward weapon in hand before he was stopped by a silver arrow and spear hitting him in his shoulders.

Annabeth looked up in shock at the sight in front of her. Standing there with the hunters behind her was Thalia Grace another arrow notched on her bow and beside her was Luke Castellan.

"Try to touch Rose and I assure you; it will be the last thing you will do." Luke growled out.

Annabeth stared in shock as the spear was ripped out of Atreus's shoulder and into Luke's hand again.

"Thanks Luke but I could have handled it." Rose said pouting.

"Of course, you would have shrimp, I don't want Percy coming here and killing all of them because you got hurt." Luke responded before minimizing his spear.

Annabeth was shocked and couldn't help but walk forward but was stopped by an arrow whizzing past her head.

"That's close enough Chase I suggest you go back and help out your friend there." Thalia said another arrow notched.

To Annabeth it was clear, the leaders and hunters were on side of the room and Annabeth and Chaos's warriors on the other. She walked back and helped Atreus.

"I told you to stand down you idiot." Annabeth scolded Atreus.

"They insulted you my lady, I cannot stand by when they do that." Atreus responded before getting up and looking at the campers. "I would like to apologize for my words earlier, I meant no offense when calling you half breeds. I have heard the tales of your battles against the Titans and Giants as well as Gaia herself. I also would ask for any apology for your words to Lady Chase, I find that they were out of line especially in the context in which they were used."

The campers were shocked and confused, Rose looked at Nico who nodded at her.

"I apologize as well, for calling her a bitch especially when I never actually met her before, it was just out of a preconceived idea of who you would be." Rose apologized begrudgingly.

Chiron looked on nervously before speaking. "I believe that will be all for now, Annabeth we have 2 cabins set aside that are empty for you and your friends to use, they can go there and relax, Jason can show you the way to your cabins. There are 2 tables in the dining hall so that they may come and dine with us when the time comes. I wish you all a warm welcome and if Atreus needs, he can go to the infirmary and get fully healed. Annabeth my dear could you please stay behind for a word."

Annabeth nodded before looking at the others and nodding for them to go to the cabin and follow Jason.

"Campers please go back to your duties. Thalia, Nico and Luke if you 3 could stay behind as well that would be greatly appreciated." Chiron added before waving off the other campers.

Rose looked sadly at Chiron before looking up at Luke and Thalia. "Did you guys get me the thing?"

Luke laughed before ruffling Rose's hair, "We did shrimp, now hurry up and go or you're not getting it."

"Hey, leave my hair alone you dummy." Rose said before running away.

Annabeth took a seat on one side of the table whilst the other 3 on the other side.

"Know I assume you have a lot of question especially regarding the presence of Luke here." Chiron asked.

"Of course, she would, she's the daughter of Athena she wants to know what's going on." Nico added while leaning back in his chair.

"I would like to know what happened if possible." Annabeth said her voice quiet.

Chiron looked at Luke who looked at Thalia who shrugged. "Not up to me, its all you."

Luke sighed and looked at Annabeth, "Well about 5 years ago I was pulled out of Elysium, I was going for a third try to try and get to the Isles of Blessed when I was in Utah. I was confused at first before I saw something in front of me."

**Flashback**

"_What the…. Am I back again where the hell am I?" I couldn't help but look around before I heard the sound of a scream and a roar of a monster. Instincts took over and I ran towards the noise and I saw a Hydra and the Minotaur in front of me. What surprised me the most was Percy on his back clutching his right arm and then I saw Riptide and I knew what I had to do. I thought, 'Well you already died once why not again.' I killed the Minotaur because the dumb thing was too busy gloating over top of Percy but the Hydra on the other hand much harder to kill when your alone, luckily I had Thalia to save me as well as the hunt._

"_What the hell? Luke?" Percy asked looking at Luke confused before noticing that Luke had Riptide in his hands._

_Before Luke could say anything an arrow hit him in the arm causing him to drop Riptide before he was pushed to the ground by Percy who now had Riptide pointed at his throat._

"_How are you back and why did you save me!" Percy demanded._

"_I don't know I just woke up here and heard a scream, I saw what was happening and figured you needed help." Luke said while looking around wildly._

"_Percy don't trust him, not yet we need to take him to Olympus, figure out what the hell is going on." Thalia said before she was pushed aside by Lady Artemis._

"_Hm, let him go Percy, we shall do as Thalia says, take him to Olympus let us judge him there." Artemis said coolly before turning to her hunters._

"_Girls set up camp for tonight I will be back later. Before we go Perseus you should grab that demi-god you were helping." Artemis also added before chuckling at Percy's expression._

"_Shit, Rose! Where are you its safe to come out now." _

_A figure stepped out from behind a tree, black hair and green eyes she walked forwards and stopped in front of Percy._

"_You're hurt because of me." Rose said while tearing up._

"_No no no no, I got hurt because I wasn't trying my best, I would have been fine if I was trying more." Percy said while wiping her tears._

"_Thank you for protecting me!" Rose cried hugging Percy. _

"_Ow ow watch the arm, it still hurts." Percy laughed aloud when she hugged him. _

"_Lady Artemis can you please take her to camp for me quickly, I won't be able to make the journey at the moment." Percy asked._

"_Of course, I will be back shortly so that we can go to Olympus." Artemis responded before grabbing a hold of Rose's hand._

"_I'll see you at camp okay, I wanna help my new sister get used to everything at camp." Percy smiled before she was teleported away by Artemis._

"_Mother trucker that hurts holy!" Percy yelled out falling on his back._

"_Kelp head what were you thinking fighting a hydra and a minotaur alone." Thalia scolded him while still keeping an eye on Luke._

"_Look it seemed like a good idea at the time. Looking back not so much." Percy responded before looking at Luke. "Didn't think I would ever say this but thank god you were here though, would have died if it weren't for you." _

"_No worries, what are you doing here anyways, alone escorting demi-gods, isn't that the satyr's job?" Luke asked confused. _

"_Yea they still do I just help out now, not much at Camp for me anymore." Percy responded looking at his arm as he poured water over it._

"_What about Annabeth?" Luke asked._

_Instantly Luke knew it was a sore subject for both Percy and Thalia as Thalia started to crackle with electricity and Percy crushed the water bottle in his hand. _

"_Let's leave that topic for another day." Percy responded._

**Flashback End**

"After that I was brought to Olympus and pretty much put on trial, I thought that they may execute me but Percy and Thalia both had my back and vouched for me. I was put on probation for 2 years before finally being granted freedom again. Since then I've been roaming around the world exploring and learning what I can to teach the campers about life on the outside." Luke said.

"But how are you alive, how are you back it doesn't make any sense." Annabeth asked confused out of her mind.

"Beats me, even the Gods weren't sure about it. Regardless I'm back now and here to fight for good. I even swore an oath to never betray Olympus, life has gotten better since Percy made them keep that oath." Luke admitted while leaning back.

"My question to you Chase is why are you here. What's happening that we need you? If its just monsters its fine, we've done it once we can do it again, hell if its Titans or the Giants we can do it again so what is the threat that we need you?" Thalia asked aggressively.

Annabeth shifted uncomfortably in her chair before responding. "Lady Chaos believes that the Primordials Erebus, Nyx and Tartarus are rising, bringing back Gaia the Giants and the Titans. They plan on ruling not only Earth but the Universe and this is the first step in them attempting to awaken Order, so that it may join them in their fight."

Silence enveloped the room before Nico laughed, "Holy shit we're screwed."


	3. The Hard Truth

Annabeth walked into the cabin that held the warriors of Chaos.

"Max could you grab the girls please, we need to talk." Annabeth said before looking around the room.

"Of course, Lady Chase."

Atreus was wrapping his shoulder looking down at the floor, ashamed that he was damaged in a surprise attack.

"Atreus, thank you for apologizing, I am sorry that you were hurt in the altercation. Next time please stand down." Annabeth said while looking at her second in command.

"Of course, my lady, it juts upsets me when you are insulted, especially after everything that you have been through to come back to your home." Atreus explained.

"I know, but they have no knowledge of what I have been through, and I would like to keep it that way." Annabeth responded.

"Lady Chase, you called for us?" A tall brunette asked followed closely by 5 other females.

"Yes, we need to go over everything that is going to happen over the next couple days. Firstly, I want you to keep all of your tempers, we don't need anyone getting hurt before the real fighting begins." Annabeth explained before sitting down.

"The only problem we will have is fi they keep insulting you, you say they are your friends, yet they threaten you and speak badly of you." The brunette responded.

"Aishling look, they have every right to be angry at me, you don't know what happened from their point of view. I don't blame them and never will." Annabeth sighed looking at the ground.

"Where is this Percy Jackson you spoke so highly of? Is he not here?" Atreus asked. He looked forward to meeting the hero who had saved the Gods twice now.

Annabeth looked down sadly again. "It appears that he left Camp not long after I had left, his current whereabouts are unknown, at least to me."

"So, he is a coward, I thought as much from a child of a go-" Aishling was cut off as Annabeth slapped her.

"You will not talk badly of Percy. He is one of the bravest most noble people I have ever met." Annabeth said glaring at Aishling.

Aishling looked up shocked before going down to a knee, "I apologize Lady Chase, my words were out of line."

Annabeth sighed and looked around, "Look I am not asking you to like the campers, but we have to work with them to stop the evil and aid Lady Chaos in restoring balance to the Universe. We have all seen what the supporters of Order have been doing, but this is the biggest problem in the universe. These beings are some of the most powerful if not the most powerful beings in the Universe and they can determine the fate of all our lives. I intend to stay here after the war is complete and live out the rest of my days here. Please do not make this anymore difficult for me then it already is."

The soldiers looked at Annabeth before nodding, she looked up at them gratefully, "Now we should get ready to eat first, you are all going to love the food."

**Olympus Throne Room**

Zeus looked around at the council and contemplated on his next moves.

"Poseidon, have you had contact with Perseus recently?" Zeus asked his brother.

"Not so much recently with his work in the mortal world it has become a bit harder to keep in touch, but I try to see how he is every so often." Poseidon responded.

"I see, I fear that once again, Olympus will need his assistance for the upcoming war." Zeus told his brother looking grim.

"I feared as much, it appears that you have left your hunters at Camp Artemis is that correct?" Poseidon asked.

"I have Uncle, leaving them there in case of any more attacks seemed like a smart choice." Artemis responded.

"Well we know that Camp Half-Blood is going to be secure, how about the Romans?" Hades asked.

"Well they have higher numbers so they will be able to last longer at least in theory." Athena said while looking at a notebook. "I would like to add that merging both Camps together would be best, it would make it so that our children would not be separated and would have one home to defend."

"Hmm, then we shall do that, we will place the children at Camp Half Blood due to its proximity to Olympus." Zeus said, "Are there any other pieces of news?"

"It appears that Annabeth has returned, she is the leader of the group that Lady Chaos has sent us." Hermes told his father.

"So, she returns, keep a close eye on her, if we can learn anything from her to aid us that would be most beneficial." Zeus said while looking at Athena. "If that is all this council is dismissed."

Many of the Gods left except for Zeus, Hestia, Poseidon and Athena.

Zeus looked at his sister Hestia, "Does he know she is back?"

Hestia who was tending to the hearth looked up at Zeus and responded, "Not at the moment, but I imagine he will soon enough. Would it be wise to bring him into this war, especially after all he has done for us? He deserves peace brother."

Zeus sighed before rubbing his eyes, "I know Hestia and I would like to not involve him in this conflict, but he is the most powerful demi-god of all time, of course we need his help. I want to be able to say we can give him the peace he looks for, but I cannot guarantee that peace if we do not win this fight."

Poseidon nodded sadly as if agreeing with Zeus. "I agree brother, I wish for Percy to be able to live a normal life, a life not of a hero but of a normal man but he unfortunately cannot, it would appear that the fates do not intend on leaving my son alone, and his fate in intertwined with your daughter Athena."

Athena looked up and smiled sadly, "I never knew why she left, she was madly in love with him and vice versa, I just hope their relationship can be fixed."

Poseidon sniffed the air and smiled, "It appears it is dinner time at Camp, well I shall be off, must warn Triton and Amphitrite."

He looked at the others before disappearing in a sea breeze.

Zeus sighed, "Well it appears it begins again."

**Camp Half Blood**

Luke and Nico were talking near the stables when Annabeth walked up to them. Nico noticed her first and told Luke something who nodded, and Nico walked off. Luke walked inside the stables with Annabeth following. She followed Luke unsure of what to say or how to start up a conversation with him.

"Cat got your tongue. If you have something to say, say it." Luke said while brushing the mane of Blackjack.

"How have you been?" Annabeth asked nervously.

"Slow start, okay, I've been good, being accepted back into Camp and by the Gods has been amazing, Percy really made a difference after those 2 wars." Luke responded not looking at Annabeth.

Annabeth felt her chest constrict at hearing Percy's name.

"I don't get it Annabeth, why did you leave?" Luke asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Annabeth responded.

"Why wouldn't I? It's been a question I wanted to ask you if I ever got to see you again, its just genuine curiosity."

Annabeth looked down and didn't respond.

"If you don't want to answer I understand, its probably still a hard topic for you to talk about." Luke said while brushing the mane of some other Pegasus's.

"Look Luke, I regret leaving is that what you want to hear? I wish I was here for Percy, but I wasn't and that's that. I made my choice and I have lived with it for 5 years what more do you want from me what more do all of you want from me." Annabeth asked tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry for not being there, not being there when you came to my house in San Francisco not being there when you came back and not being there when you needed me."

Luke looked at her, he knew she was remorseful but knew she needed to know the truth.

"You know, no one's mad cause you left, they all understood to some degree, help the most powerful being in the universe? I think any of us would have taken that in a heartbeat, but we all know the one person who wouldn't. Percy, he would have stayed because of you, that's why people are mad. You were in a relationship with him Annabeth for years. You fought together bleed for each other and loved each other. He sacrificed so much for you when the chips were down, but when you were faced with that choice, you left. That is why so many of us are angry at you, not because you left, but because of who you left. You know everyone here loved Percy, he cared for everyone even me. He let me stay at his place when I first came back because it was uncomfortable at Camp. I tried to kill him multiple times, but he was willing to let it all go to help me adjust. That's the type of person Percy was, he's different now Annabeth, and I don't think you want to see the person he's become." Luke said before offering Annabeth a hand. "Come on, you need to get some rest, we can talk more tomorrow."

Annabeth looked up in shock from what she had just heard from Luke, a person who she had thought hated Percy and everything he stood for was able to describe him to a tee. She then realized that maybe she needed to do some thinking herself.


	4. A Look Back

Rose was a simple girl, well simple for a demi-god. She was brought to Camp Half Blood by her half-brother Percy and cousin Thalia 5 years ago, finding a new home and a family she never knew she had. She learned quickly that she would have to be fairly self-sufficient in order to survive in this new world she lived in. That didn't mean that she didn't have any help, as Percy stayed with her getting to know her and training her as a Daughter of Poseidon. She heard the tales of her brother and his friends, the life he had gone through and the things he had done. He was a legend amongst campers, and she knew that living up to him was near impossible but doesn't mean she wasn't going to try. She knew of Annabeth Chase, had heard the stories. The daughter of Athena who had been with Percy since he arrived at camp, working together to stop the Titans and Gaia. Of course, he jumped into Tartarus for her as well. She was angry when she heard she had left Percy and did not seem to understand why Percy seemed to no longer care about it.

**Flashback**

_Rose was lying on her back on the beach, sweating and breathing heavily. She was exhausted and just wanted to go sleep in her cabin._

"_You know, it's only going to get tougher from here on out, you have a good grasp on the basics so it's time to move to the more complex things." Percy said laughing and taking a seat next to her._

"_How long did it take you to learn all of this?" Rose asked still trying to catch her breath._

"_It took me a while, remember I had no one teaching me how to use my powers. It was all trial and error in terms of learning what I could do and what my limits were." Percy explained drawing lines in the sand._

"_Wait so dad never taught you anything?" Rose asked looking at her brother._

"_Nope he wasn't able to, he's a little busy if you haven't noticed. Doing God stuff and ruling the sea isn't simple and easy to do." Percy said while looking out into the sea. "Don't resent him for it, he cares about us."_

_Rose sat up and looked out into the sea, "I don't resent him, I just wish I could spend more time with him."_

_Percy smiled sadly, "I know, but he's always going to look out for us."_

_Silence followed and the two enjoyed the quiet and peace around them the waves calm, and a slight sea breeze passed them, Poseidon acknowledging their presence near his domain._

_Rose looked up nervously at her brother wanting to ask a question that had been bothering her for a while._

"_You're nervous, why?" Percy asked not looking at her._

_Rose gulped and took in a breath, "I want to ask you about Annabeth."_

_Percy's jaw clenched and his eyes hardened as he continued to look out at the sea._

"_What do you want to know?" Percy said sighing._

"_I've heard of all the stories from the other campers, about the Second Titan War, the Second Giant War, but I've never heard about them from you."_

"_What can I say, we were friends during the Titan War, she had my back and I could trust her with my life and I'm sure that it was the same the other way around. She was the thing that kept me from doing too many stupid things, sure I was reckless but without her I don't think I would be here right now, she saved my life multiple times. We got close over time, I guess you can say it was only natural considering how many quests we went on and the prophecy impacting us as well." Percy explained._

_Rose looked at Percy and saw his features soften the more he talked about her._

"_Do you think she'll come back?" Rose asked genuinely curious about her brothers' thoughts on this._

_Percy looked at his sister, "I don't know, but if she does I hope she comes back stronger and smarter than when she left."_

"_Why aren't you angry at her Percy? She left you and you act like it's okay?' Rose asked the question she really wanted the answer to. "Everyone in Camp who knew you two resents her for leaving but why not you."_

_Percy sighed again looked at the sand, it took him a couple minutes before he finally answered._

"_I was angry, I felt betrayed by the girl I loved, but I understood." Percy said. "Annabeth is a Daughter of Athena, she has a thirst for knowledge, when Chaos offered a chance to learn more about the universe how could she say no. It took me time to fully understand her decision. I don't hate her for it but if she were to come back one day, things wouldn't be the same, I'm too different now. My life has changed, doing missions for the gods and being a teacher has given me something to do. I'm looking to settle down and live peacefully within the next couple years."_

_Rose looked at Percy shocked and finally understood what many of the campers had meant. Percy wasn't just a leader because he was powerful or a good fighter, those attributes merely helped him, the real reason he was a leader was due to his knowledge his level of maturity and understanding about the people around him._

"_Sorry for bringing it up Percy, I just wanted to know."_

_Percy looked at his sister and smiled, "Don't ever apologize for asking question you don't know the answer too."_

**Flashback End**

Walking around the Camp she saw Luke Thalia and Nico talking near the Dining Hall and approached them curious to see what they were talking about.

"Well we need to grab food and drinks because last time we went empty handed he wasn't happy." Nico said while looking at his watch.

"I'll drive, we can grab something on the way, where are we meeting him anyways?" Luke responded.

"He said that we could meet him near Goode, said something about extra papers he had to mark." Nico told them while smirking.

"Gods Percy has such a boring life." Rose couldn't help blurting out.

The 3 looked at her before smiling, "Yes he does which is why we're going to spice it up." Thalia responded.

Rose pouted, "You guys get to leave Camp and go see him, unfair."

Luke laughed, "Well the last time we took you to see him you two almost got into a fight. I don't think we need that this time Shrimp."

"It's not my fault Percy's a sore loser, he should be better at Mario Kart then." Rose responded before giving them her best puppy eyes, "Can I come please?" Instantly Luke looked at Nico with fear.

"Nico you deal with this, it's my weakness." Luke said hiding behind Nico who looked on wide eyed.

'I'm not better than you with it, but Thalia." Nico said while smirking.

Rose stopped when she heard Thalia's name, the Daughter of Zeus never fell for the eyes. "Damn."

Thalia laughed before grabbing Roses head and patting her head. "When you're older kiddo, you can come with us but for now just watch Camp for us, with everything going on we need someone we trust and Gods know we can't trust the Stolls."

"We heard that Thalia." Connor yelled.

"You were meant to" Thalia yelled back.

"Thunder thighs." Travis mumbled under his breath, but Thalia heard it.

"What you say Travis, you wanna say that again." Thalia yelled before running after the Stolls who ran as fast as they could.

Jason walked up to the group and smiled, "Don't worry too much about her, I'll make sure she doesn't kill any Ares Campers and keep her out of trouble, say hi to Percy for me."

"Will do Jason, when were you planning on heading out, it's been a while since you met up with Piper?" Luke asked curious.

"She's been busy with school; I know that she meets up with Percy whenever she's free but she has so much stuff to do it's hard for her to leave the area near her school. We're planning on trying to meet up next week." Jason said looking a little sad, "I am happy knowing that Percy can look out for her out there, not that she needs it."

Thalia finally returned smirking and feeling a little better.

"Should I get Will?" Jason asked.

"Nope, don't worry about it little bro, we talked it out." Thalia said while smiling.

"I'll get Will." Jason said before saying his goodbyes and walking off.

Silence enveloped the 4 and Rose finally asked, "Are you going to tell him?"

Nico looked at the others before responding. "We don't know yet, part of us want to but know that it wouldn't help him out, knowing she's back."

Rose nodded, knowing that despite everything Percy had said, knowing she was back would not help him.

"Well we need to head out now, got to make sure we get there when school lets out so we can embarrass him in front of his students." Thalia said grinning.

Rose gave them all a hug, "Say hi to him for me."

"We will, stay safe Rose." Nico said before they walked over to the hill.

Rose sighed as the went out of sight and turned and looked at the Camp before her stomach growled. Food was her first thought as she made her way to the dining hall.

Jason walked into the arena looking around and saw Clarisse roughing up a training dummy and a couple of Hermes campers running from Katie ho was throwing what looked like dirt at them.

'Some things never change' he thought to himself before sitting down and closing his eyes.

He knew that things would be getting crazy in the next few days and wanted to enjoy as much peace and quiet as he could. The peace did not last as long as he would have hoped as he heard Clarisse yelling.

"Are you crazy, I could have hurt you!"

Jason snorted, Clarisse actually caring about hurting someone, but feeling bad about it was funny. He opened his eyes and was surprised, standing in front of Clarisse axes holding Clarisse spear from stabbing him was Atreus, followed by the warriors of Chaos behind him.

"I meant no harm Daughter of Ares, I merely wished to spar as we have not since arriving and believe that you a Daughter of the God of War would provide a challenge." Atreus spoke respectfully.

Clarisse glared at him before pulling back maimer, "Alright then, just a sparring match?"

"Yes." Atreus nodded.

"First one to yield loses then. Hey clear the arena!" Clarisse yelled out.

The soldiers of Chaos moved to the stands before taking their seats and looking on with interest, the campers who were present also sat down keen on watching what a warrior of Chaos could do.

"Grace can you be the referee." Clarisse asked him.

"Sure, not like I have anything else to do." Jason said getting up and walking between the two fighters.

"So clean fight no maiming or injuring of the serious kind, no powers as well and yielding to your open will lead to a loss. Begin." Jason declared before vaulting backwards.

The two fighters circled each other waiting for the other to strike first, after a beat they both charged.


	5. Catching Up

He heard the whispers of the students as he passed, the not so subtle look from the girls and some boys but ignored them. He walked into the classroom and put his bag on his desk and sat down at his chair drinking his coffee and looking at his phone. Curious to see the new news in politics and events around the world before looking up and seeing some of his students peering into his classroom who had knocked on his door. He sighed and waved them in, a group of 7 students came in and took their seats talking about their plans for summer break coming up in next week and gossiped about more things in the school's social circles. He started to ignore them before he noticed that the room was silent causing him to once again look up from his phone. The students were staring at him expecting an answer.

"Mr. Jackson are you dating Ms. Bell?" A student named Melanie asked.

Percy raised an eyebrow at this and responded. "What gives you the impression that I am dating Ms. Bell?"

The students looked at each other before responding, "Apparently a couple students saw you and Ms. Bell grabbing coffee the other day and word spread you two were an item." Another student by the name of Anthony told him.

Percy nodded before taking a sip of his coffee.

"No Ms. Bell and I are not dating, we were meeting to discuss the plans for the year end gala that the staff were going to have, we have to go over the betting pools of course and distribute winnings." He said making up the last part.

"Betting pool what betting pool?" Melanie asked confused.

Percy smiled and laughed internally he had them now, "The betting pool on which students will end up dating which, we have so many categories, most likely to end up together most likely to break up and our favorite and the most lucrative, the most unlikely couple… Why do you think we always assign you seats, you children aren't the most subtle about who you crush on you know ask Mr. Blofis." Percy said smiling.

The students gaped at each other processing what they just heard. Just as they were about to bombard them with questions the first bell rang signaling students that class would start in 5 minutes time.

"Well time to get the quiz ready." Percy said getting up and gathering his papers, today was going to be a fun day.

Percy sat down at the staff table and looked around at his colleagues who all were looking at him before laughing.

"You told them about the betting pool?" Mr. Slade asked.

"Of course, they wouldn't believe me anyways. You would have loved the looks on their faces Phil." Percy responded while smiling.

"Why did you tell them?" Ms. Bell asked.

"Well Jessica looks like some of our students saw us at Starbucks and asked if we were dating, I told them no and we were discussing the staff gala and brought up the betting pool." Percy responded.

"Hm smart, and sorry Percy but you're not my type." Ms. Bell responded.

"You wouldn't be able to handle me if you tried, trust me." Percy shot back while laughing. "Anyways good luck cause knowing how the rumor mill works here it will already have spread.

As the teachers laughed the door burst open and a very angry Paul Blofis entered the room.

"Which one of you told them about the pool, because I am being accused of seating students who had crushes on each other together." Paul said looking around the room before the staff burst out laughing.

"Sorry Paul that was me." Percy said not regretting it at all.

"Percy did you really have to do that to me. The students are calling me cupid now." Paul said glaring at his stepson.

"Well at least you'll have a costume for next Halloween." Phil muttered being heard by both Percy and Jessica who laughed even more.

Paul sat down in a chair and looked defeated, "This day is not going to go well."

"Nope Paul no it will not." Percy responded smiling at his stepfather.

"Anyways, I got to get back and get ready for next period, so see you on Sunday Jessica?" Percy said grabbing his things.

"Yup same place, same time?" Jessica responded.

"What's this a date?" Paul asked looking at Percy.

Jessica laughed, "Nope just going over the plans for the gala."

"Okay you two whatever you say." Phil said while chuckling.

"Don't forget Percy, you promised to take Hannah out shopping Sunday." Paul reminded Percy.

"Don't worry Paul I'm meeting her at Starbucks after we go over plans for the party. Anyways see you all later." Percy said while waving and walking back to his classroom.

**Time Skip**

The final bell rang letting the students out for the weekend, a weekend that Percy was looking forward to. He packed up his things and grabbed his bag and made his way outside saying bye to some students along the way. His cousins and Luke would be coming to visit which always made the weekend more fun, loud but fun. As he stepped outside the school getting ready for his walk to his apartment he heard a voice call out.

"HEY KELP HEAD OVER HERE!"

Percy looked around confused unable to spot the only person who would call him that.

"HERE YOU DOOFUS IN THE PARKING LOT!"

He turned and was terrified at the sight in front of him, a black SUV was parked with Luke deathly pale in the passenger's seat a pale Nico (if he could be paler) in the back seat and Thalia with a smile in the drivers' seat. He shook his head and walked over aware of all the stares he was getting from his students.

"I thought I told you to meet me at my apartment." Percy said looking at Thalia angrily.

"Well where's the fun in that Kelp Head, it's my job to embarrass you especially in front of your students." Thalia explained.

"Why does it look like Nico and Luke just died and went to Hades?" Percy asked looking at the other two who had yet to acknowledge him.

"I don't know I drove here safe and sound." Thalia shrugged.

"S-s-safe? You call that safe?" Luke asked turning his head slowly.

"Well yeah, did you die?" Thalia smiling at Luke.

Instantly Luke was out of the seat and grabbing the keys to the car, "Never again do I let you drive my car." He grumbled making Thalia get out of the car.

"It wasn't that bad was it Death Breath?" Thalia asked Nico who had yet to respond.

"Never again," Nico repeated, "Never again."

Percy sighed before getting into the passenger's side, "So where to?"

"How about some burgers?" Luke asked while pulling out of the parking lot.

"Anything to get Death Breath up." Thalia said while poking Nico who was starting to regain a little bit of color.

"Off we go!" Luke proclaimed while driving forward. Percy shook his head and looked out the window.

**Time Skip**

The 4 of them were sat inside the Marauders Den, a small establishment near Percy's home and were waiting to order.

Percy looked around the table at his closest friends and couldn't help but feel out of place.

"Then the next morning the Stolls were hanging upside down courtesy of a couple of plants, Katie finally caught them, and boy did they pay." Luke finished while chuckling.

"So not much has changed?" Percy asked noticing the owner of the restaurant approaching.

"Hey Harry, how's business?" Percy asked the young man in front of him.

"Good good. How are you Percy?" Harry responded. The man had a British accent and wore round rimmed glasses and a unique scar on his forehead.

"Same old same old, can we get 4 cheeseburgers with fries." Percy ordered while looking at his friends, "A coke for the pale guy, a sprite for the blonde one, a root beer for the girl and a cherry coke for me."

Harry wrote down the order before shaking his head, "I'll grab the burgers for you asap."

Thalia watched as he left, "You come here often?" Thalia asked.

"Yup, I liked the name and Harry's nice, seems like he's been through a lot though but always puts on a smile and makes great food." Percy said while leaning back.

"Like you." Nico said quietly.

Percy looked at Nico confused. "I don't think I know what you mean?"

"The smiling part, you've been through so much but you always put on a smile." Nico said examining Percy.

Percy looked at Nico then to Luke then Thalia.

"Do you all think that?" Percy asked them.

They all nodded, "Percy you've been a part of a lot of quest, been in 2 wars, had your memories taken and the girl you loved left you. I would say you've been through a lot." Luke said while looking at Percy.

Percy sat there in silence before looking up and sighing. "I don't know but I guess I never looked at it that way before. Now that you put it into perspective I have been through a lot." He said rubbing the back of his neck.

Thalia snorted, "Of course you wouldn't notice it Kelp Head, you're you."

Percy smiled and was about to respond when Harry returned with a tray full of food.

"Here we are folks, 4 cheeseburgers with fries and your drinks. If you need anything else just let me know, as for now, enjoy." Harry said before walking away.

Percy looked at the others before digging in and enjoying the burger in his hands.

"Wow this is so good." Thalia exclaimed eating the burger with gusto.

"Yeah you weren't joking about how good it was." Luke said while eating more of the burger.

"Yeah it's alright." Nico said while taking a bite of his fries.

Percy shook his head and finished chewing, "Anything new I should know about with the gods?"

They all stopped and stared at him before Luke responded.

"It looks like we have another fight coming, but we don't have too many details yet. It's not we can't handle, if we need your help we'll let you know."

Percy looked at them strangely before responding, "Feels like there's something you aren't telling me. Whatever, if you need the help let me know."

They finished the rest of the meal in silence and left saying their thanks to Harry and leaving.

"We got you these as some snacks and stuff Perce." Nico said giving Percy a bag filled with chips and candy.

"Thanks guys come out more often, it's gets a little weird being around non-demigods you know." Percy said smiling.

"Well there is another solution you know." Thalia responded giving Percy a hug.

"You know I won't ever feel comfortable there anymore, besides it's not like I don't visit." Percy said shrugging.

"The last time you came to Camp was 3 years ago, and all you did was stay on the beach with Rose. By the way Rose says hi." Luke told Percy.

"Doesn't matter, I got to go guys, got an early morning tomorrow and I'm all booked on Sunday so gotta do all my marking tonight." Percy said giving the other two hugs before saying bye and leaving.

He ran into his neighbor who was leaving her apartment and walked into his own apartment the smile on his face vanishing instantly, his eyes which were kind and had a kind glow turning dark and finally the weight of the Hero of Olympus was revealed, the eyes which once were bright and glowing, looking to the future were dimmed and hollow, just like the person who the eyes belonged to. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair before setting his bag down and getting out the papers he had to grade and got to work.

"Percy."

Percy got up Riptide now in his hand before relaxing, his father stood before him leaning against the wall.

"Hey dad, what are you doing here?" Percy asked before sitting back down.

"Well, I figured that you would be feeling a little lonely and I haven't seen you in a while that didn't involve business." Poseidon said shifting and walking to sit on the couch.

"Nice to see you too, so what's the real reason." Percy said looking his father in the eye.

Poseidon laughed and smiled at Percy, "That obvious? Well there's a fight coming, a bigger threat then we have had before. As much as I would like you to not be involved. It appears that we will need you, I am unsure of when, but we will need your help once again."

Percy looked down and nodded before looking at his dad.

"I'll help on one condition."

Poseidon looked at his son before nodding.

Percy sighed and looked his father in the eye,

"I want to die. I want to move on with my life, this will be the third war I will have fought in. I have seen too many friends die and I have caused enough bloodshed in my life. If we win this war I just want to rest, and I believe that I will never get that so long as I am alive. I'm tired dad and I just want to move on."

Poseidon looked at his son in shock, the words that came out of his mouth the thought that he would even want to die was appaling.

"Percy, you know that I cannot do this to you, think of your mother and your siblings, your friends. You would leave them all?" Poseidon asked.

Percy looked down ashamed, "Yes, I just want to move on, I'm tired dad and want to rest. Everywhere I go I think of her, I see her, I go to sleep thinking of her. Without her here its hard, I want to not have to worry about that. Try for rebirth and make it to the Isles of Blessed."

Poseidon was shocked and got up not knowing what to say.

"Please, I'm just asking for one thing, that is all I want, I feel that you all owe me this." Percy said.

"It will not be my decision to make, it'll be up to Zeus and the council." Poseidon responded still in shock.

Percy looked up, "Then I shall ask them myself."


	6. Making a Plan

Annabeth walked out of the cabin she shared with the other members of Chaos's forces and looked around. She took in the sights and sounds of the Camp around her and walked towards the dining hall. She felt tired especially after her conversation with Luke the other day and wanted some time alone to gather her thoughts.

She figured that maybe getting out of the Camp and the world of the gods would help her. Going into the city would help clear her mind and she decided after the meeting going over strategies that she would inform both Atreus and Aishling about her plans to go into the city for a day. Ash she neared the hall she noticed it was nearly empty except for one person sitting on the Poseidon bench talking to a fish in a bowl. Annabeth recalled her name being Rose, granted it was hard to forget the name of the girl who called her a bitch, Annabeth couldn't blame her for her harsh words. She gathered some food and offered some to her mother before sitting down at the Chaos table and eating a collection of fruits and bread. She could feel someone staring at her and looked up to see the fish staring at her while Rose was laughing.

"Don't say that, it's not nice." Rose said to no one.

The fish Annabeth was staring at then turned to face Rose before swimming in circles causing Rose to burst out laughing even more.

"Let me guess you're talking to the fish." Annabeth spoke up.

Rose stopped laughing and looked at Annabeth eyes narrowed. "First the fish has a name, and his name is Phalanges, second yes I am talking to the fish, considering who my dad is."

Annabeth sighed and walked over before standing in front of Rose.

"Look I get that you don't like me because of what happened between me and your brother, but I would at least like to get to know you. You're a child of Poseidon and I would like to know what you're strengths and weaknesses are." Annabeth said staring at the girl in front of her.

Rose looked at her, "Always thinking of a plan, he did say you were the planner. What would you like to know?"

"I want to spar, in the arena. Show me what you can do, prove you aren't as weak as your brother was when he was 13. Meet me there in 10 minutes." Annabeth said before walking out of the dining hall and towards the arena.

Rose stared at the blonde before getting up angrily and walking over to her cabin getting ready because she knew she would prove that she was strong.

**Arena**

Jason looked on as the two fighters clashed, Clarisse thrusting maimer forward multiple times to be dodged by Atreus who fought defensively to start, before bringing his knee up and striking Clarisse in her gut. Clarisse staggered back winded and glared at Atreus who then rushed forward using his axes to try and disarm Clarisse who was now put on the defensive. She blocked his attacks well with her shield before ducking to the side and using the butt end of her spear to stun Atreus then bashing him with her shield forcing him back.

Atreus looked up in surprise before smiling and walking forward twirling his axes in a circle. Clarisse looked at him in shock before a look of determination came onto her face and she charged doing something no one expected, she threw her shield at him causing him to drop on of his axes and not being able to defend himself from Clarisse's next attack which scratched his abdomen. Clarisse pressed forward stabbing more aggressively now that she no longer held a shield.

Jason looked on figuring the to be won by Clarisse when the axe behind Clarisse started shaking and shot towards Atreus, knocking Clarisse's feet out from under her. Instantly Atreus had both of his axes to Clarisse's throat, "Yield." Atreus asked.

Clarisse glared at him before nodding acknowledging defeat and getting up.

"Well fought Daughter of Ares it was a spirited affair." Atreus said while smiling.

"Yeah good fight, I'll get you next time." Clarisse said while picking up her shield.

"You've improved." Annabeth said walking up to Clarisse and smiling.

"Of course, I've had 5 years Princess you think I wouldn't have improved. You came here for a fight? Grace over there might be up for it." Clarisse told her while smiling.

"Nope, I have Rose coming here for a little bit of a match, I want to see how strong she is." Annabeth said while pulling out two knives and twirling them absentmindedly.

Clarisse and Jason looked at her in shock.

"Why would you challenge her?" Jason asked bewildered.

Annabeth looked confused before responding. "I just want to see how strong she is, I want to know if she's more powerful then Percy at her age that's all. I even told her that."

Clarisse looked at Annabeth then to Jason. "She's dead."

Annabeth looked at Clarisse with a frown, "I am sure she can manage; I won't hurt her either."

Jason responded still shocked, "It's not her I'm worried about, it's you, Rose is more powerful then Percy was at the age of 13, combine that with the fact that she using a fighting style very different from Percy makes her very strong and unpredictable."

Annabeth smiled, "Good then it'll be a good fight."

Clarisse was about to respond when she heard a commotion behind her.

The three of them turned around and saw Rose standing there, a spear and shield in hand.

"Come on then, you want to see how strong I am, I'll show you how strong I am." Rose challenged before glaring at the other campers around her who went back and sat on the seats.

The soldiers of Chaos looked at Annabeth who nodded before they themselves took a seat in the bleachers as well. Clarisse and Jason looked at Annabeth one more time before taking a seat on the benches.

"What are the rules." Rose asked.

"Don't hold back, fight till the opponent yields and use everything you got kid." Annabeth said while setting her feet into the ground.

"Good."

Rose charged Annabeth so fast the blonde was just able to get her guard up blocking a strike from a sword. Annabeth saw the blade and was confused; she could have sworn that the weapon Rose was holding was a spear but ignored it and pushed Rose back. She wanted to take a second to examine the girl but was unable to as a stream of arrows were fired towards Annabeth who had to use her agility to dodge the arrows before one caught her in her shoulder, forcing her to take a step back in pain. Now Rose was standing there with a bow in hand and was firing arrows freely because of the space Annabeth created. Annabeth then decided to start advancing forward before she yet again was surprised as the bow morphed into a spear and she jumped back avoiding a thrust that came at her. The spear then shifted to a sword which slashed at Annabeth who ducked underneath and attempted to slash upwards before she was blocked by a shield.

'So, she has a weapon that can morph into a sword, shield and bow as well as a shield that can appear on will.' Annabeth thought to herself before she took a breath.

"Nice toys kid, Percy definitely didn't have anything like that, makes fighting you harder than I thought." Annabeth said knowing that it would upset the girl in front of her. Instead of seeing anger in her eyes, Annabeth only saw determination and yet again was charged. As she saw Rose near she was about to raise her arms to block the strike before she couldn't move her body and was faced with a blade coming towards her head and was sliced at her cheek drawing black blood from her cheek. She turned in shock and looked at the girl in front of her.

"You may have known my brother, but you know nothing about me. Ironic black blood for a cold-hearted bitch like yourself." Rose taunted.

Annabeth's eyes flared in ager before she turned and launched herself at the girl in front of her wanting to now make an example out of her.

Rose was shocked at the speed in which Annabeth attacked but was not surprised consider what she had just down and was on the back foot. She was pushed back and jumped up onto the wall before pushing off and landing behind Annabeth who turned with her dagger out and clipped Rose on the shoulder. What Annabeth saw rooted her on spot, instead of red blood coming out of the wound she saw golden ichor.

Rose saw Annabeth paused and rushed forward holding her shield out in front of her and spear over top jabbing and forcing Annabeth into the wall who rolled out to eh side and jumped up avoiding a sword swinging at her. She then took advantage of the forward position of Rose and kicked her back leg out forcing Rose onto one knee and kicking her shield out of her hand and slashing with her knives which Rose was able to block with her sword. Annabeth pushed forward with all her strength wanting to end the fight. She saw Rose close her eyes and her face went from being strained to being calm in seconds.

Rose knew that she was going to lose the fight if she couldn't think of anything quickly then heard what sounded like Percy's voice in her head,

'Breathe Rose breathe. Feel the air around you, feel the air, feel the breeze on your face, feel the ground beneath your feet holding you up, keep you stable. The power, feel the power Rose it's influence pumping through your veins, travelling to every nerve in your body like a shock, you're no longer you now. You're a part of something greater, a part of the ocean now do it.'

A roaring of water forced Annabeth to turn before she was swept off her feet by a torrent of water slamming her into the wall of the arena. As the water stopped she looked up to see Rose floating with tendrils of water around her ready to rush forward and sweep Annabeth off her feet again.

"So you are strong." Annabeth said to herself before charging at the girl deciding to finish the fight now.

Rose pushed the tendrils of water forward to stop Annabeth who dodged the first 3 before she used a shield made up of pure energy to block the last one before she jumped toward Rose.

Rose smirked thinking that she could easily counter Annabeth's attack which seemed too telegraphed. Just before Annabeth reached Rose she was gone, and Rose looked confused as she lunged forward with her sword and then heard a noise behind her. She turned her head in time to see Annabeth behind her who kicked her full force into the ground causing a dust cloud to cover the arena. When the dust settled Annabeth stood over Rose her knives at Rose's throat.

"I yield." Rose said while groaning.

Annabeth looked at the girl beneath her before and nodded in approval,

"You're stronger than you're brother was at this age which is good, where did you learn all that and where did you get that weapon?" Annabeth asked curiously.

"Percy taught me all the stuff with water, he spent the first 2 years of me being here training me individually, he wanted me to be able to fight for myself when he wasn't going to be able to protect me. The weapon was a gift from Percy and Tyson, Percy noticed that I was fairly good at using different weapons but preferred a sword and spear. The bow was an added feature after he discovered I was good at archery compared to him, granted everyone is better at archery then he is." Rose said as she collapsed her Swiss blade like weapon into a wrist band.

"He taught you well, I'm sorry for my earlier comments, I wanted you to let out everything and I am not disappointed." Annabeth helped the girl up before looking around the arena seeing the faces of the campers who looked on in awe.

Jason, Clarisse and Atreus walked over, "My lady you are cut." Atreus said in concern.

Annabeth reached up to her cheek feeling the liquid on her cheek and healing it on spot doing the same to her shoulder. She turned to Rose and healed her cut as well,

"You were made immortal?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah something that Uncle Zeus actually insisted after find out about me, something about having powerful demi-gods to help Olympus when needed. I still can age until I want to stop so I'm going to wait it out and will probably stop around my late teens." Rose said looking disappointed.

Jason looked at the two of them, "You guys that was amazing, you both fought so well." He then looked at Annabeth, "I'm assuming you have more powers you just didn't use."

Annabeth nodded before stretching, "We should gather in the Great House again, we have to plan a defensive strategy."

'I'll get the cabin leaders again and get them to the great house in 10 minutes." Clarisse said before walking off.

"Atreus could you please bring Aishling to the Great House as well, I would like you two there." Annabeth asked Atreus who nodded.

Annabeth then looked at Jason, "Can you bring me a map of the borders of Camp Half Blood and see if you can bring over the leaders of Camp Jupiter"

Jason nodded before walking off.

Annabeth then looked at Rose, "Can we talk? I want to get to know you a little more now."

Rose nodded and walked beside Annabeth as they made their way to the Big House.

"How old were you when you came to camp?" Annabeth asked.

"I was 7, just like you my birthday was a couple days away when Percy found me. My mom and stepdad died in a car accident, so I was in an orphanage when he came. It was pretty easy for him to take me considering how filled the orphanage was and the resemblance to me, he made it pretty convincing that he was a long-lost brother, obviously he wasn't lying and was able to take me and bring me here. The journey here was rough, he would have died protecting me if it wasn't for Luke and the Hunters of Artemis being there to save him. He left pretty quickly after dropping me off at Camp, but he's come back to train me and get to know me better. I IM him sometimes whenever I'm bored and want to talk. He's the only reason I'm as good as I am at using my powers, if it wasn't for him I would be weak." Rose explained while looking at Annabeth.

"Sounds just like him, have you met his sister on his moms' side?" Annabeth asked curious to see how close they were.

"Yup met Sally, Paul, Hannah and Mike. Sally is the best she's so kind and caring and so is Paul. Hannah is great as well like a little sister I never had." Rose said while smiling.

"Mike? So he also has a little brother now." Annabeth said as they entered the Rec Room and sat down waiting for the other to arrive.

The others came into the room now along with Hazel and Frank from Camp Jupiter who both gave Annabeth a hug before taking their seats. Atreus and Aishling sat next to Annabeth and looked around the room at the campers who looked bored and wanted to get the meeting over with.

"Where are Luke, Nico and Thalia?" Annabeth asked noticing the trio was missing.

"They're gone for the day, will be back later on, we'll fill them in later about what we go over, Phoebe will be representing the Hunters on behalf of Thalia." Chiron told Annabeth who nodded.

"Jason the maps." Annabeth asked Jason who gave her the maps of the Camp.

Annabeth examined the maps before giving them to Atreus who looked at the map thoughtfully.

"First thing is merging both Camps, we want to make sure they two groups of demi-gods can't be separated, can we get them all into one Camp?" Annabeth asked looking at Chiron and Frank and Hazel.

"We can, just have to ask Zeus to expand the borders of the Camp but it can be done." Chiron said.

"Good we will have to set up two lines of defense, one facing the forest the other the hill, we want to make sure we're protected from both sides. Do we have to worry about the ocean?" Annabeth asked looking at Rose.

"Nope, my father and Triton will make sure no one will get near camp." Rose said looking at Annabeth.

"Good we'll have less ground to cover, I'm assuming we have some ships left over from the battle with the Giants." Annabeth asked looking at Leo.

"Yup they're at Camp Jupiter but we can bring them here when the campers arrive giving us some more stuff to blow stuff up with." Leo said while smiling.

Annabeth smiled, "Finally, we're getting a plan together."


	7. Can You See my Heart

Wake up, wash up, eat breakfast, and get dressed. A routine, this was the routine for Percy Jackson, a man who had fought in wars, seen friends died and even taken the lives of others. This was the routine of a man who was tired, who wanted an end to his young life. He may have been able to find peace in one time but now he knew that it would never come. It was nice in all honesty, not fearing dying or death itself, he felt almost free of any burdens that he used to carry. He also assumed that the lack of monster attacks and no quest also helped him relax more and led ton him building up a proper life outside of being a demi-god. At times he forgot about life as a Demi-God, he enjoyed the simpleness of everything if he could, he would let the past die, kill it, if he had to. At least today would prove exciting, he was going to take his little sister shopping and meet up with Jessica to discuss the staff gala some more, finishing up the planning and all. He wasn't a fool, he did find Jessica Bell attractive, hell she was young beautiful and smart, being the biology teacher at Goode had to mean she was smart. He had been pushed many times by both Paul and Sally to ask her on a date, but Percy couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew why of course, and he didn't want to bring her into his world, a world full of craziness and mayhem she did not deserve. As he neared the apartment complex where his mother stayed he saw his little sister waiting for him at the stairs on her phone.

"Hey short stuff." Percy called out with a smile.

His little sister Hannah looked up and smiled before running to him and hugging him.

"Hey Percy, missed you." Hannah responded.

"I saw you last week remember, you stopped by because you didn't want to do homework." Percy laughed rubbing his sister's head.

"Yeah bad call on my part, running to get away from homework and just ended doing it. Why did you have to become boring and be a teacher like dad."

Percy pretend to be hurt, "Boring, well if I'm boring I guess I shouldn't take you shopping."

Hannah's eyes widened with fear, "No, please no I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, we'll go to the mall give mom and dad some time off to rest with Mikey." Percy said while laughing and wrapping an arm around his sisters' shoulder and walking towards the city centre.

They walked in silence before Hannah looked up to Percy before smirking,

"So, heard you have a date."

Percy just sighed, "So Paul told you about me meeting Ms. Bell today."

"Oh yeah, and I know that she's the pretty one with brown hair in the school staff photo, mom showed me." Jessica said smiling up at Percy.

"Of course, she showed you. No, it's not a date Hannah, I'm just meeting her to discuss the staff gala coming up." Percy explained, "Besides it's not like she's the only girl we're meeting, Piper is meeting us as well."

Hannah's eyes lit up at the new development.

"I get to see Piper as well!"

"Yup, she said she had some time and wanted to see you again. She said she was getting bored at school and needed to see someone from Camp and I'm the closest person for her to see." Percy reasoned as they walked into the mall.

The pair walked around with Hannah grabbing some items and Percy dutifully holding the bags for his little sister.

"Don't you think you have enough stuff?"

Hannah laughed and turned to look at Percy, "Nope. Mom and dad can't take me shopping so I have to do it all when I'm with you!"

Percy just shook his head, "If you keep taking advan-"

"PIPER!" Hannah exclaimed out loud before jumping into Pipers arms who couldn't help but laugh.

"Hello little lady," Piper responded laughing.

"Hey Piper." Percy greeted his friend with a hug.

"Hi Percy," Piper responded smiling at Percy before smacking him in the arm. "Why didn't you say you were dating again."

Percy groaned and looked at Piper, "Who told you that?"

"Jason who heard from Thalia who heard from your Mom." Piper responded smiling widely.

Percy just shook his head, "No I'm not dating anyone, Paul and my mom seem to think that I should date one of my coworkers."

"Yeah he has a date with her today." Hannah said smiling at Percy.

"Oh really?" Piper responded looking at Percy with a raised eyebrow.

Percy just sighed and shook his head, "Work meeting that's all it is."

"Sure it is." Piper teased back. "You know I still can't believe you're actually taking care of your hair now."

"I have to, being a teacher and all, by the way, how's school been?" Percy asked Piper.

"It's been good, boring compared to what we're used to but it's something consistent." Piper responded with a smile. "How about you, how is teaching Greek Mythology?"

"Well it's easier considering I've lived through a lot of the legends, but honestly not as hard as dealing with teenagers. I have no idea how Chiron dealt with us for so long."

Piper laughed and couldn't help but nod, "Yeah if some of the people in my class are examples, I pity your existence."

Percy just shook his head before looking at his watch. "I have a good hour before I'm supposed to meet up with a co-worker, where should we go?"

"I want to go grab some candy." Hannah proclaimed grabbing Piper and dragging her to the candy store.

Percy just looked at the two and smiled he followed the girls as they walked into a store hand in hand before stopping. He turned around and looked carefully at the people behind him, hand in his pocket griping Riptide before he stopped. Something caught his eye and he couldn't help but follow, they had a sense of familiarity to them. He followed the person as they walked through the crowd of shoppers and turned into a hallway. Percy pushed through the crowd trying to catch up with the person before he turned into the hallway as well and the person was gone. He looked around and sighed he was seeing he thought to himself. He couldn't help but lean back against the wall and fall to the ground sitting. Memories flashed through his mind, from their first meeting all the quest the late nights and the abandonment.

"Idiot, why would she be here. She left and isn't coming back; you have to get over it." Percy muttered to himself before looking around and running his hand through his hair. He got up and took a second to gather his thoughts before turning around to leave before stopping one more time to look back into the hall.

"Percy! Come on let's go." Hannah yelled at her brother before running up to him and grabbing his arm, "I even got you blue jellybeans."

Percy smiled at her before ruffling her hair, "Thanks kid, come on let's go."

Percy looked up and saw Piper staring past him and into the hall behind before meeting his eye. The look on her face clearly showed that she knew something and that they would be talking about this later.

Percy sighed before shaking his head. Piper just stared at him before giving him a curt nod.

Percy knew that this was going to be something that was going to be a pain for a while now.

**Camp Half Blood Earlier that Day**

Annabeth left the cabin that was assigned to the soldier of Chaos and looked around.

Annabeth then turned to Jason, "I'm going to leave Camp for the rest of the day, I wanted to see what New York looks like, it's been while. You said Piper was in New York as well right?"

Jason nodded, "Yeah but I don't think that she'd want to see you, no offence Annabeth but she wasn't exactly happy that you left either."

Annabeth nodded in understanding, "She's a daughter of Aphrodite, of course she would be upset."

"Did you want me to come with you?" Jason asked.

"No, I can take care of myself, I'll just be looking around it'll be boring." Annabeth assured him before making her way out of the tent.

Jason followed her, "How are you getting there?"

"I'll teleport into an alley somewhere and just start walking around."

Jason just looked at her a nodded, "If something comes up?"

"Atreus will get in contact if there is any issue." Annabeth responded before she smiled at Jason. "I'll be back later."

Annabeth appeared in a dark alley and looked around before walking towards the street. As she emerged onto the street she took a second to take it all in again, the sounds of the city, the cars the people around her. The sight of the tall buildings around her and the unique smell of the city, she was happy to be back in New York. She didn't have a particular destination in mind she just wanted to feel free and enjoy the simple things again. She went and grabbed a hot dog form a vendor and decided to walk around before going into a mall nearby and taking a look at the clothes and other items in the various shop windows.

Walking around she couldn't help but smile at the sight of children running around laughing and playing hearing their laughter making her happy to be back on Earth again. As she turned ready to leave she heard a girl's voice.

"PIPER!"

Annabeth turned around and saw a little girl jump into the arms of a girl who looked to be in her late teens. Annabeth walked closer before she stopped, standing in front of her was Piper McLean, one of her old friends. She was smiling and talking with the girl before she got up and hugged the person the little girl was with. Annabeth kept watching before she saw the guy turn while shaking his head. Her heart stopped, and she felt tears welling up in her eyes, standing less than 30 feet from her was Percy Jackson. To Annabeth it felt like eternity, staring at her best friend, he looked different, his hair short now and he looked so much more relaxed now. She figured it had to do with not dealing with anything demigod related for the last couple years. Annabeth's body moved without her even thinking it, she started to walk forwards, unsure if what she was seeing was real. She saw the girl take Pipers hand and lead her over to a candy store, Percy was following before he stopped.

Annabeth knew that he had felt something off and turned to leave, she needed to get away from him. She walked through the crowd faster trying to get away. She looked back and saw him following her and she knew she had to get away, she turned the corner into a dark hallway and faded into the wall, hiding away from Percy. Her heart was pounding when he turned the corner and scanned the room. His eyes stopped at where she was before he shook his head and sighed before he leaned against the wall and held his head in his arms.

"Idiot, why would she be here. She left and isn't coming back; you have to get over it." She heard Percy mutter to himself before looking around and running his hand through his hair. He stood up and looked around before he heard his sister call him. Annabeth looked on as his sister and Piper came back into view. Hannah held up a bag of blue jellybeans for Percy who smiled and took the jellybeans before he looked at Piper. Piper looked at Percy before looking into the hall and scanning it before she stopped where Annabeth was standing. Piper narrowed her eyes before walking away joining the siblings.

'He's safe and he's alive.' Annabeth thought to herself as she came out of her hiding spot and stood in the hall before she felt her necklace pulse, notifying her of a situation with Atreus at Camp Half Blood and teleported away.


End file.
